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August 26, 2025
 

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EDITORIALS
Apr 20, 2010
Auto-industry forces combine
Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA of France announced a business and capital tie-up agreement with Daimler AG of Germany on April 7. In December, Suzuki Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG of Germany struck a capital tie-up deal. The auto industry is undergoing sweeping transformation as markets in developed...
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2010
Addressing food self-sufficiency
The Hatoyama administration March 30 introduced a basic food, agriculture and agricultural-village program. Among other things, the program calls for raising Japan's food self-sufficiency rate from the current 41 percent to 50 percent (calculated by calories) in 10 years. This goes beyond the 45 percent...
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2010
No change of tack in North Korea
North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature concluded its latest session April 9 in Pyongyang. In the one-day session, the 12th Supreme People's Assembly approved the government activities report, this year's budget and last year's settlement of accounts, revision of the constitution and a number of personnel...
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2010
Victory for freedom of information
The Tokyo District Court on April 9 determined that Japan and the United States had secret pacts over the 1972 reversion of Okinawa and ordered the state to disclose related diplomatic documents. Twenty-five journalists and academics had filed a lawsuit calling for the disclosure in March 2009 when Mr....
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2010
Mr. Hatoyama's tough task
During a working dinner on April 12 for the nuclear security summit in Washington, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was seated next to U.S. President Barack Obama and the two leaders held unofficial talks for 10 minutes. Mr. Hatoyama told Mr. Obama that the issue of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps'...
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2010
Boost for nonproliferation
At the just-concluded summit on nuclear security, representatives from 47 nations — 38 of them heads of state — joined with host U.S. President Barack Obama to rally support for the goal of securing all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years. Coming on the heels of publication of the U.S....
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2010
Understanding U.S. nuclear policy
While Japan has made nuclear disarmament a pillar of its diplomacy, in fact the existence of U.S. nuclear weapons has been critical to Japan's postwar peace and prosperity. The U.S. nuclear arsenal provided an extended deterrent — a nuclear umbrella — that sheltered this country and protected it...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2010
Weak prospects for new party
Five former Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers have formed a new party named Tachiagare Nippon (which translates as "stand up, Japan"). The party says that its primary goal is to prevent the Democratic Party of Japan from gaining a majority in the coming Upper House election. In that case, the party...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2010
Justice for former JNR workers
A 23-year-old labor dispute affecting former workers of the now-defunct Japanese National Railways (JNR) is likely to be resolved, as the National Railway Workers' Union (Kokuro) and other bodies concerned have accepted a ¥20 billion settlement plan.
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2010
Education with less latitude
The education ministry has screened and approved 148 new textbooks for use in primary schools, most of which will be introduced to classrooms in fiscal 2011.
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2010
Nurses operating in gray zone
The health ministry has launched a new model project to nurture "special nurses" who can provide a wider range of medical services than ordinary nurses. The primary purpose of the project, which began with the new fiscal year, is to have nurses take on some of the duties that would otherwise be done...
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2010
Safety failures at nuclear plant
Chugoku Electric Power Co. announced March 30 that it failed to conduct routine checks on 123 components of its Shimane nuclear power plant in Matsue — 74 in the No. 1 reactor and 49 in the No. 2 reactor. Some components, such as valves in piping and an emergency diesel power generator, had not been...
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Man arrested in Kobe stabbing had been staying at hotel near victim’s home
Masashi Tanimoto arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman in Kobe, is sent to prosecutors on Sunday.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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